Heaving through corrupted Lungs
by Bonsaiscribbler
Summary: Todoroki passes out in an abandoned park. Dabi finds him. Warning for Child abuse.
1. Chapter 1

**Heaving through corrupted Lungs**

His head is buzzing. It kind of reminds of that horrible song that Kaminari kept playing over and over and over again in the common rooms. Until Bakugo lost his temper and blew everything up.

He can't remember the name of the song, or the lyrics, or anything really, he just know that the buzzing in his head reminds him of it. He should know it, he really should. But his head is buzzing, and it hurts, and he's cold, and he can't remember why he's cold.

There had been fire, he recalls. So he should be hot, burning maybe, but he isn't. He'd been training, or maybe fighting? His memory is getting fuzzier by the minute, something that should alarm him, but doesn't. It'd be nice to forget everything, he muses. Start over, no memories, no past, everything would be gone.

There's a nagging voice in his head – sounding suspiciously like Bakugo – telling him that it would be stupid, that he'd miss his friends, his family – at least what's left of it. He'd love if the voice could just shut up, and let him drift of in silence and succumb to the cold that's seeping into his bones.

Why is he so cold? And what's with the buzzing?

The more he tries to focus on it, the more he notices that the buzzing is actually the sound of raindrops. That would at least explain why he's cold. He's probably sitting outside somewhere after leaving... leaving where? It's the weekend, so it couldn't have been the dorms, because he went back home. Oh, he'd gone home. His father had wanted something. They'd probably trained, maybe fought about something too.

It had been very hot, and then very cold, and very hot again.

His side aches, something must have happened. His father most likely broke a rib or two, it wouldn't be the first time. He should put ice on it, he supposes, but he can't find the strength to actually do it.

Suddenly the rain stops. He opens his eyes and stares at the umbrella that appeared over his head.

"Damn, squirt... the old man sure did a number on you." A familiar voice says. He traces the umbrella back to its owner. "Can you even hear me?"

"Ryouta..." he mumbles, reaching out, before withdrawing his hand. Ryouta had left him, had become a villain. He'd taken Bakugo, hurt his friends, hurt him. "Wha're you doin'?"

"Nice slurred speech you got going there, little brother." Ryouta says. No, not Ryouta. Dabi, Shouto firmly reminds himself. He's not Ryouta anymore, he's not his big brother anymore, not his family. He's the enemy now. He'd left him. He'd left him behind, knowing what their father would do.

"So, you always pass out in abandoned parks looking like you've been mauled by a lion, or did I just get lucky today?" Dabi prods. He bends forward, trying to get a closer look at Shouto. And Shouto tries to push Dabi's hands away when they reach for him, he really tries, but it's so nice to have his big brother's hand carefully grab a hold of him and brush the hair out of his face. "You're really out of it, huh?"

"'m not..." He should probably call for help, or something. Maybe fight back, subdue Dabi and take him back to... where? Home? No. UA? No. Take him where? His thoughts drift, and he doesn't notice he's being moved until he's in his brothers arms. "'ey.. "

He can stand on his own. He's had worse than this, and Ryouta Dabi isn't his brother anymore and he left, and he shouldn't.

"Shouto, hey... hey!" Dabi gently shakes his shoulders. "Can you hear me?"

He can, and he should answer. But he left him. He left me with dad, a small petulant voice says.

"I did, didn't I?" Dabi replies, and oh, oh.. he's said that one out loud. "You sure have been mumbling a lot..."

It's all Midoriya's fault, he always mumbles, Shouto supposes.

"Pretty sure it's the old bastard's fault." Dabi says. He's pushing and pulling, and Shouto should struggle or something, or maybe go along with it. He doesn't know. It's his brother, and he's a villain. But he's his brother.

His thoughts keep circling back to Dabi being Ryouta, his big brother, who'd loved him so much, who'd taught Shouto not to be scared of fire, but he's also Dabi, who'd taken Bakugo – someone he cared for... who he'd become close to, who he...

"Hey, Shouto... I'm going to take you with me. I'm going to take you somewhere safe." Dabi promises. And it's wrong, wrong, wrong. There is no way that Dabi would take him to a safe place, Dabi's the enemy. "You'll see. It'll be okay."

With more force than he expected, Dabi pulls him away from where he had been sitting – a park bench, maybe? - and drags him along. It's getting cold again. When he looks back, he sees the umbrella abandoned on the ground. Ryouta must have dropped it, when he'd pulled him up. He wants to turn back and grab it, but his brother holds him back.

"Man, you are out of it. It'd be cute, if I didn't know what caused it." Dabi grumbles. He readjusts his grip and pulls and pulls.

Something really hurts. Probably his side. Or his head. Or maybe his throat from when his father had choked him. He'd choked him..? He'd been angry, so angry.

He tries to find the words to tell Dabi what he wants. That he wants to go back to the dorms, to Bakugo and Midoriya. To safety. Not home, never home, please don't take me home.

"I'm never letting you go home again." Dabi promises. "You'll be safe with me."

Something isn't right, but he's with his brother. And his brother always... always...

He blacks out.

He fades in and out. For a moment, he swears he hears Ryouta's voice, feels a hand on his forehead and then he's out again.

Outside Dabi reaches for Shouto's phone to make one last call, before he destroys the phone. He knows he probably shouldn't, but Shouto would hate for his friends to think that he'd abandoned them or something.

He shouldn't care, but he does. Shouto is still his little brother. Confused, maybe. On the wrong side, maybe. But that can be fixed. His brother will understand in time. It's not his fault that the old bastard forced Shouto to follow his path.

And his father will be so very mad. It almost makes him giggle with glee.

"Hello Mr Underground Hero. You should keep better track of your students. Leaving them alone in the dark, in abandoned parks, is rather dangerous, don't you think? Lots of bad people around..."


	2. Chapter 2

_He hadn't planned to take Shouto with him. He'd heard that their father had demanded to see his precious masterpiece, and curiosity had gotten the better of him. He'd meant to sneak around, maybe take a peak – if he'd managed to make it on the grounds – but never to interfere in any way. And in the unlikely scenario that the old bastard noticed him, well... he always had a back-up plan._

 _What he didn't expect was to find his little brother passed out on a park bench in the heavy rain, looking completely lost and unaware of his surroundings. It hadn't been his intention to check on him, to take him home with him. But the way he'd called him by his old name... his dead name, and reached for him, had made something long buried stirr inside him. And so he'd taken Shouto with him, somewhere safe – just as he'd promised._

 _Shouto would understand why he did it, why he couldn't let him stay with the Heroes – all those hypocrites and their lies – and why he shoule be at Dabi's side, why his ideals were right, and their father's wrong. It'd take time. But he could do it, he could convince Shouto._

And at the moment, he supposes, his brother is helpless, vulnerable, and holding on to the idea that his older brother is still his older brother. It'd be easy to get Shouto to trust him, to make him believe that only his brother was enough for him, that he there was no one else to rely on.

He isn't wrong. He might have changed, but Shouto is still his little brother. Still his. Their siblings hadn't had to suffer through their father's training, none of them with quirks strong enough to attract their father's attention, just Shouto and him. None of the others understood, just the two of them. And Shouto had been so small, so young, when his quirk manifested and his father took an obsessive interest in him – almost, _almost_ , casting Dabi aside in favor of training Shouto.

He'd been happy at first. Glad that he was no longer the one to go through their father's excessive training. Then he'd seen Shouto, sweet, little Shouto, who thought that his older brother could move mountains, if he wanted to – bruised and in tears more often than not, and had tried to stand up to their father – at that point he'd still naively wanted to become a hero and save people.

He'd tried to confront their father. It hadn't gone well. It had only been a matter of time until his father had cast him aside.

And he'd run. Left his family, left his little brother, left everything behind, swearing that he'd never become a hero, that he'd do everything in his power to bring his father down. That he'd ruin everything his father had built.

This could have been a golden opportunity, he muses, to use Shouto to ruin their father, bury him and his kind once and for all, expose their true nature. It could be so easy, if he hated Shouto, if he had managed to get rid of his old self. But there's something ugly, possessive growing in his chest. He could never forget the things that he and Shouto had suffered through... No one else could ever understand.

He's my little brother, he thinks, mine. And he'll be damned, if he doesn't make him understand.

Destroying their father is not worth Shouto. Even though a part of him wants to hate his brother for blindly following their father's ideals, he can't quite get rid of that weird protective, possessive feeling that keeps him from using his brother. He just needs Shouto by his side, that'd be enough to send their father into a rage induced frenzy.

It's going to be oh so easy. Shouto is so weak, so soft, so reliant on his big brother. Dabi isn't kind by any means, he's long abandoned such weakness. Kindness gets you killed, he knows, kindness lets you believe that people will change, that they'll... No, their father won't change. And the kindness their mother had shown their father had driven her mad in the end, snapping at her own child.

Back when he'd taken Shouto to his hideout, constantly watching out for heroes and villains alike, he dredged up what kindness he had left, making sure to speak in a soft, soothing voice, and respond to whatever name Shouto called him. He'd been exceedingly gentle when he cleaned him up and bandaged his wounds, and Shouto taken to his big brother's affection, happily letting the latter take him to bed, and feed him something. He could have given Shouto anything, and he wouldn't have cared, as long as it had been from his kind big brother. Blindly trusting him.

It would have been concerning to anyone else, but not to him, not to Dabi. If he managed to keep gaining his trust, he'd be able to get Shouto to do anything.

It'll be nice to have someone on his side no matter what, he decides. The league of villains are – as their ridiculous name states – villains, and simply not trustworthy. They might work together for a common goal, even have some sort of comraderie going on, but not trust, never trust. Trust means death.

But not with Shouto. No, Shouto is different. Shouto is loyal. He will fight for his brother, always be on his side. And isn't that a nice idea? Someone just for him?

When he goes to check on his brother, still very much out of it, he decides that he'll keep him, no matter what. Even if Shouto refuses to understand, he can still keep him. It wouldn't be the same as having him on his side, but it would do. Shouto would be safe with him.

Shouto's riddled with black and blue bruises, cuts and abrasions, burnt skin and frostbite from where he'd protected himself from their father's wrath. His head injury is the one that is most worrying. But his little brother recognizes him, when he comes to check on him, despite still being very much confused, and that is the most important thing.

It leaves him vulnerable to Dabi's care. Let's Dabi play the caring, gentle older brother that Shouto remembers. Makes it so much easier to slip between the cracks in his defense.


	3. Chapter 3

It's not fair. It's a disaster. It's not right. It's not true, it can't be true.

But it is.

They'd worked so hard to get here. It hadn't been easy. So much had happened. He'd hated everyone, wanting to be the best, wanting to prove Deku that he was better than him, wanting to show the world that he deserved to be number one, and only him. But things had changed. He'd changed.

It had taken so much for him to finally learn to rely on people, on his friends. He even managed to reach an not-quite-easy-but-working understanding with Midoriya. Even now he doubts that they can be friends again - too much has happened, too much he'd done wrong - but they can be comrades, working towards a common goal or whatever.

And Todoroki. Stupid, annoying, incredibly oblivious Todoroki Shouto. He can't remember when he realized that he was not just crushing on the most oblivious person on this side of the universe, but was head over heels for him. Stupidly in love. Like the damn idiot that he is.

Surprisingly, it had been Todoroki to approach him, and confess his attraction. His initial reaction had been poor to say the least. Openly rejecting him, terrified of admitting his own feelings. The look on Todoroki's face had broken his heart, and as he'd turned to leave Bakugo has grabbed him - held him so very tight, enjoying his warmth, smell, everything - and apologized, admitting that his rejection has been a knee- jerk reaction. Despite his initial idiocy – and damn if he had been nothing but stupid, to almost let the best thing in his life slip through his fingers – Todoroki had become his boyfriend.

Even with their feelings out in the open, it hadn't been easy. There were so many things that they could barely talk about, too much anger involved. Todoroki's father was one of those things.

But they somehow managed.

And now he was gone.

Taken, he thinks bitterly. By some unknown enemy.

After the call from Dabi Aizawa had mobilized all available heroes, but it seemed like Dabi and Shouto had disappeared off the face of the earth. 

He can't be dead, he just can't. He knows that there's a connection between Dabi and Todoroki. He doesn't know what it is – Todoroki has promised to tell him some day - but he knows that Dabi is important to Todoroki, and that hopefully means that Todoroki is important to him too.

So he's alive. He has to be. He can't be dead. 

He stares at his desk. Two tickets laying next to his math book, unused, dated for today. It's just a dumb movie, he thinks, but it had taken a lot of courage to ask Todoroki to go with him to that dumb romance that Ochako recommended – romance movies had never been his thing, but Ochako said that Todoroki would love that one, because of some stupid family stuff, so... And he'd said yes. And they were supposed to go and see it today. And Todoroki wasn't here, because he'd been taken.

Dabi had absolutely no right to take him. 

He's so angry, destruction boiling under his skin. In a single explosion his bed lays in ruins, his next victim is his own dresser, but before he can cause even more destruction, he's tackled by a familiar weight. Fucking Deku, he thinks, swinging around to hit him in the face.

Midoriya catches his hand easily - no longer the pushover he used to be - and takes an explosion to the face from Bakugo's other hand.

Red-hot rage overtakes him. _It's all his fault anyway. It's always Deku's fault. If only it had been him._

It's a short and brutal brawl after this, leaving the rest of his room in bits. But Bakugou doesn't care. He's so angry. It's not fair, not fair, not fair. For once in his damn life everything had been great. Why couldn't it stay that way? Why did it have to be Shouto? Why couldn't they have taken Midoriya? Or Kirishima? Or literally anyone else?

You wouldn't want that either, a traitorous voice whispers in his head. And of course it sounds just like Todoroki, because he tends to be the rational one in these situations. He'd know what to do. But he's gone, taken, not here, stolen from Bakugou. Maybe if he could calm down, he could think and figure out what to do, but he can't calm down, and Deku's right there, and it has to be his fault.

With an angry growl, he tries to launch himself at Midoriya again. Only to be held back by two arms wrapping around him from behind.

Kirishima. Traitor.

"They'll find him." he says, holding Bakugou tight. "And of they don't, we'll search for him ourselves. We'll find him. I promise we'll find him."

It's a promise they both know is difficult to keep.

"I know!" Bakugo exclaims, small explosions going off. "I know... He just..."

"They weren't supposed to take him." he says in a small voice, almost a whisper. "We're supposed to be fucking safe here."  
"Kacchan..." Stupid Deku. Idiot. Fucking clueless, moronic, shitheaded... "If they can't find him, I will."

It shouldn't be reassuring. But Midoriya is tenacious, he will find him. It's frustrating to no end, because it should be Bakugo. He should be the one to swoop in and do the whole dumb knight in shining armor thing. But he couldn't get his shit together. He couldn't. Not with Shouto gone.

"I fucking hate you." he seethes instead, looking at Midoriya, who just smiles sadly at Kirishima behind him. "Why did it have to be him? Huh? Why the fuck would they take him?"

"It's okay. Be mad at me, if it helps." Midoriya says. "Todoroki is my friend. I'll do everything I can to bring him back, I swear to you, I will. So keep hating me, if it helps you keep it together."

"You're a fucking hypocrite. Fucking wannabe-saint." Bakugou spits, but slowly sags against Kirishima. Midoriya just nods, standing tall, refusing to back down.

"They'd better find him." he says. "If they don't, I'm going to..."

He trails of. It's not Midoriya's fault. Not at all. But there's so much anger in him. Someone needs to take the brunt of it. And that idiot, stupid, annoying idiot, just offers himself up like some sort of human sacrifice.

His friends know him too well. Know that he needs to direct his anger somewhere. They know that he's falling apart. He can't be mad at Todoroki, because he's his, and he needs him, and his friends are all idiots, but he's so angry, and he just needs to break something.

It's barely been two days since Todoroki had been taken, but he can barely hold it together. Instead his not-quite-friend steps up, doing what he's supposed to. 

He won't cry. Not with Kirishima holding on to him, not with Midoriya reaching out with him, not with anyone around. He won't cry, he refuses, because they will get Todoroki back. 


	4. Chapter 4

Nine days. Nine days since Todoroki disappeared. Nine days since the villain they identified as Dabi had let them know that he'd taken Todoroki. Nine days of trying to keep things as normal as possible for his students, while searching for their missing classmate.

Nine days of heroes working in secret – Endeavor insists on not broadcasting that his son had been taken – and nine days of absolutely no trace.

The last thing they know is that Todoroki went home to his father, supposedly to train, and then left the house a few hours later. Neither Endeavor nor the other family members know the exact time, since Endeavor had been called to a crime scene, and his daughter had still been at school teaching her students. If it had been anyone but Endeavor, Aizawa would have believed them. But something about Endeavor rubbed him the wrong way. From the way he spoke to his son to the way he spoke to All Might.

All they had managed to find out was that Todoroki had been at a park when he'd been taken. They'd found an abandoned umbrella – the fingerprints identified it as Dabi's – and some blood smeared on a park bench. Endeavor insisted that his son must have fought the villain, but there was no such evidence. It's more likely, Aizawa assumes, that Todoroki had been too injured and exhausted after his training to put up a proper fight. But there's no way to ask Endeavor about the intensity of his so called training without the current No.1 Hero taking it the wrong way and shutting down that line of investigation completely.

Overall the search for Todoroki had been frustrating, draining, and worrying. With no sign of life it'd be easy to assume that he'd been killed by Dabi, but Endeavor insisted that his son would not be killed by some as he called him second-rate villain. Aizawa had gotten the distinct feeling that Endeavor knew a lot more about Dabi than he'd like to admit.

After talking to Mic in private they'd both agreed that there was indeed more than Endeavor was willing to admit.

Knowing his class they already had plans for a rescue mission, not unlike the one they had for Bakugou. But this time they didn't have a tracker on Todoroki, or Dabi, or any information at all – at this point Aizawa would accept pretty much anything – so there was nothing they could do at all.

Except question Endeavor again. The man had to know something. And he was very blase about his son being kidnapped, seemingly expecting his son to free himself and come back home. But so far he'd withheld information, and had deemed U.A. and Aizawa himself as incompetent. He never so much as said it out loud, but the distaste in his voice any time he spoke to a U.A. Staff member spoke volumes.

A direct approach would never work.

That only left a few options, one of them being right in front of him.

"Anything?" Midoriya asks, as Aizawa enters the common room to check on his students. "Did you find anything?"

"Not yet." he replies, frustration evident in his voice. "All of us are working on it. We will find him. It is only a matter of time."

With a look of disappointment Midoriya sits down, followed closely by Bakugou, who'd been right behind Midoriya when he'd spoken to Aizawa.

Grumbling loudly under his breath Bakugou throws himself down on the couch, glaring daggers at Midoriya, and the world in general. Since Todoroki's disappearance he'd become more and more of a menace, flinging insults at just about everyone, and constantly sparing – bordering on full on brawling – with Midoriya. Aizawa had known of the relationship between Bakugou and Todoroki. Almost all of the staff had, since – despite what the two of them might have believed – neither of them had been very subtle. Most of the teacher's had chosen to ignore it – Midnight going on about young love or whatever – and as long as their relationship didn't cause any trouble for and in his class, he didn't care.

With Todoroki gone, however, Bakugou had returned to his first-year sulky, angry self. It had come as a surprise that he hadn't gone off to search for Todoroki on his own, but from what Aizawa had gathered, he had Midoriya and Kirishima to thank for that.

"You will be the first to know, if we find him." he promises, knowing fully well that it meant nothing to Bakugou or Midoriya. Both of them buzzing with pent up energy – or in Bakugou's case anger – and worry for their missing friend. "And don't you dare to pull of another stunt like last time."

"Then fucking find him." Bakugou hisses, hunching over like an angry cat. "You're supposed to be Pros, how have you not found him yet?"

"Bakugou, I understand that you are stressed, but all of you know what the league of villains is capable of." Aizawa replies, despite being well aware that the league is and was a sore spot for Bakugou. Bakugou's palms sizzle, but before he can activate his quirk, Kirishima waltzes in an quickly assesses the situation. In a few long strides he's next to Bakugou, calmly moving inbetween Aizawa and Bakugou, pulling out one of his books.

"Hey, Bakugou, I need some help with that. I really don't get what Present Mic tried to tell us about those tenses."

The distraction is blatantly obvious to everyone in the room. But both Aizawa and Bakugou somewhat gratefully accept it. Tempers are running high, and as their homeroom teacher he should probably make sure that Bakugou is not about to get into another fight, but there are only so many problem children a teacher can handle before it gets too much.

And his current problem child had disappeared off the face of the earth.

"Midoriya, meet me in the classroom when you're done with your homework." he says, carefully watching the boy for a reaction. Midoriya straightens his back, but otherwise gives no hint of nervousness.

"What? Why the hell do you want to talk to Deku?" Bakugou asks, abandoning Kirishima in favor of standing in front of his teacher. With a heavy sigh Aizawa rubs his eyes. The last days have been to exhausting for him to deal with his students' temper.

"I have some questions for him." he replies, unwilling to give further details and set off another argument. "In the meantime, you can tutor Kirishima."

With that he leaves the common room, returning to class 1-A's classroom to wait for Midoriya. He doesn't have to wait for long, barely fifteen minutes – not enough time to actually finish his homework, but who was he to question the boy right now – before Midoriya knocks and enters the room.

"You wanted to see me?" There's something about the look in his eyes, and the squared shoulders, that give away how on edge Midoriya is.

"Yes." Mustering the boy carefully, trying to find the best approach for this situation. Bluntness might be the best choice, or the worst. There's no inbetween. "We both know that you know something."

"Sir?" A nervous fidget. "What do you mean?"

"Endeavor is withholding information about the time Todoroki spent at his place." He carefully considers his next words. "Ever since the first-year sport festival you have been less than enthusiastic towards him. So I assume that you know something that I don't. Normally I wouldn't push it, since I know that Todoroki is a very private person, but whatever you know might help us find a way to deal with Endeavor."

"No, there's really..." Midoriya drifts off, gnawing on his lower lip. "I don't think I can."

"Can't or won't?"

"It's not my place to tell you." Midoriya replies, staring Aizawa in the eyes.

So it's a matter of loyalty, Aizawa muses, unsurprising, really. The only problem left is how to make Midoriya talk without him clamming up completely. And if Midoriya decided not to tell him...

"Okay, don't. Tell me about a friend of yours." It might not work, or it might just be it. "No names, nothing. A completely fictional story about a friend of yours. Can you do that?"

Understanding dawns in Midoriya's eyes. It might not be what Midoriya or Todoroki wants, but at this point he can't worry about that. And Midoriya knows as much, the boy is neither stupid nor blind.

"I can." 

Another fifteen minutes pass with Midoriya telling a story. A story that leaves Aizawa with a headache. When they get him back Todoroki and him are going to have a long, long talk.

But first things first.

"Thank you, Midoriya. You may return to your room." With that Aizawa gets up, already reaching for his phone. There's much to talk about, and Nedzu is always a good listener. And has his way with legal matters.


	5. Chapter 5

Everything is warm and cozy, and feels so incredibly safe. It's nothing he's used to anymore, not since his mother had been hospitalized and his father had driven his siblings away, and nothing he expected.

But Ryouta has been taking good care of him, taken him to an apartment, and taken care of his wounds. He still aches, but Ryouta doesn't want to take him to the hospital, and had what he called a "kinda legal doctor" to check on him. The prognosis had been just as he expected it to be, lots of bruises, a major concussion, cracked ribs, but nothing major – by his father's standards at least. It could have been so much worse.

The concussion had been annoying, but Ryouta had made sure to check on him every hour, ask him questions, and made sure he stayed hydrated and rested. What was worse was his throat. The handshaped bruise from when their father had choked him had caused more damage than either of them expected, making it hard to breathe for a while.

It had set Ryouta on the edge, constantly checking on him and feeding him medicine, making sure that Shouto got enough rest. The upside to all his injuries was that his brother had decided to take him to his place, and made sure that Shouto was taken care of – even if it felt very weird and like a trap at first. Shouto had never had any delusions of who his brother was and what he did, but it had been surprisingly familiar and welcome when his big brother took care of him. Even spoiling him to a degree, bringing him hot cocoa – always leaving him tired and ready for a nice, long nap – and setting up a video game system, something neither of them had been allowed before. When Shouto, still heavy under the influence of painkillers, asked Ryouta why he took him with him, and hadn't just left him in the park for someone else to find, Ryouta told him that he'd promised he'd keep him safe. And that was exactly what he was doing.

In that very moment his brother waltzes in, arms full of blankets, carrying them towards the couch.

"I'm okay." Shouto says, eyeing the amount of blankets. His headache decided to act up again yesterday, and Ryouta has doubled the dose of his pain medication. He's not a big fan of them, since they make him lose track of time, feeling detached from everything, but Ryouta insists that he takes them. And if Shouto forgets to take one, Ryouta will somehow magically know and make him take his painkillers anyway.

"Your body temperature would have killed a normal person by now, twerp." Ryouta replies, dropping the blankets on the sofa that Shouto is laying on. "And I know how your fire works, so don't pretend that you're not running a fever."

"You could just take me to the hospital, or take me to UA." he mumbles, as Ryouta starts spreading out the blankets, burying him under them. 

Ryouta freezes in his tracks.

"Is staying with me so bad?" He doesn't look at Shouto, instead focuses on making sure that Shouto is completely covered by blankets.

Guilt hits him. Dabi might be a villain, but he had been nothing but Shouto's kind big brother in the last few days. Always checking on him, making sure he was comfortable, getting medication, even spoiling him a little. There has to be some ulterior motive, there just has to be. But no matter how much Shouto searches for one, he can't find it. All he sees is Ryouta.

"No." It really isn't, and he'd love nothing more than to stay with his brother. "But you know that I need to contact our parents, or at least UA."

"I already did." Ryouta replies, sitting next to Shouto, taking great care to avoif his eyes. "Father said that you should crawl back on your own when you are strong enough and that this would be a great lesson for you."

It's not fair. There's always the chance that Dabi is lying to Shouto, but he knows that this is something their father would say. He's done it before, back when Ryouta had gotten lost on a family trip. When he'd been found three miles away by a couple that had been hiking in the area, he'd told them to give his son a map and to let him make his own way back.

Their mother had been devastated, and Shouto, even as young as he had been at that time, had understood that his father was needlessly torturing his brother for some selfish goals.

His shitty father had probably already contacted UA with some excuse or the other.

"Look," he continues. "I know we've had our differences. I'm a villain, you're gonna be a hero. But I'm not gonna walk away. I already did it once, and look where it got us."

"Can I leave when I get better?" Shouto asks, cutting straight to the chase. They are on different sides after all, and deep down he doubts that it's going to be this easy, even if it's Ryouta. He'll probably ask for ransom, or use him as a hostage. If Shouto were up to full strength he might be able to make a break for it, even if Ryouta has much better control over his own fire. He's seen all the possible exits, and maybe he can't take Dabi in a fight... But Ryouta instead reaches out and ruffles his hair. He hadn't done that since.. since he'd left. Why would he do that? He doesn't understand at all. They are on different sides, should be enemies, but he's Ryouta, acting just like Ryouta always has.

Ryouta had been the only one to understand what exactly it meant to be trained by their father. He'd been the only one in his family to ruffle his hair like that, or play games until their father inevitably caught them and taught them another lesson for their childish games.

"Yeah. I'm not keeping you." Ryouta says. "You're too much trouble, and are waaay too expensive for me anyway."

It stings a bit. He knows that Ryouta only took him to his place in a moment of pity or misplaced guilt, that he'd just let Shouto leave stings. No matter how much they wanted to play family, they just aren't anymore, and it shouldn't sting. It shouldn't. But Shouto wishes that just once, just this once he coule be selfish, that he could have everything. His brother, his friends, his future. Bakugou...

"Hey." Ryouta's voice cuts through his thoughts. "Don't make that face."

"What face?" Shouto replies, looking at his brother, headache making his vision spin a bit, twisting Ryouta's features even more. He's changed so much, barely looks like Ryouta anymore, but he's still taking care of him. Still his older brother... and a villain. They're going to become enemies some day.

"That one." Ryouta says, and pokes Shouto's forehead with his finger like he used to do when Shouto was five. Shouto shoots him a glare, and gets a chuckle in return. "You're being a brat. So you get treated like one."

"'m not." Shouto says, and resists the urge to hide under the covers and pout. He hasn't thrown a temper tantrum in a long time, but he's very tempted right now. Ryouta always manages to bring out the child in him... He's not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

For a moment he just watches Ryouta, who in turn stares at Shouto like he's trying to figure something out. And it seems like he does when he pushes Shouto around on the couch so he can lay next to him. He doesn't look at Shouto, staring at the ceiling instead.

"You don't have to go." he says. "You could always stay."

"Ryouta..." Shouto begins. And he wants to, he wants to so very much, but his brother is a villain and his friends are probably looking for him. His friends are going to be so worried. Bakugou must be out of his mind by now, and he just wants to see him, and he misses him so much.

But Ryouta is so nice, and he's still hurt... and Ryouta is always there for him. Everything is a mess. His headache keeps getting worse. How is he supposed to tell his brother that he wants nothing more than to stay with him, but that he also wants have his friends with him and become a hero and everything? That he wants his brother to stop being a villain and come home? That he is being greedy and selfish. "I.. you know I can't. I'd stay, if things were different. But..."

"Okay." Ryouta says, still not looking at Shouto. "Just... I want you to be safe." 

In a rush of impulsiveness – or childishness, he doesn't really know – he presses close to his older brother, and surprisingly enough, Ryouta pulls him closer, tugging him into his arms. It's so nice. So very nice. And so very wrong. Everything is wrong, but it's Ryouta, and he's right here.

"You're being awfully snuggly." Ryouta teases.

"You always have to ruin the moment, don't you?" Shouto sighs, and tries to move back into his spot, but Ryouta keeps holding him tight.

"You know me." Ryouta grins, his stupid big brother grin. The one that he always wore whenever Shouto did something that seeemed particularly ridiculous and would earn him a lot of teasing by his older brother. "It's my sole duty to torture my younger brother."

"You're an ass." Shouto says without any real heat, oddly comfortable with the situation.

For a moment they just lay there, both lost in their thoughts, going through what-if's and what-should-have-been's, then Ryouta's phone rings. He untangles himself from Shouto, and answers the call, seamlessly slipping back into his Dabi-villain-persona.

"A job?" Shouto asks, when he hangs up. "Do you have to go beat up civillians somewhere?"

"Quit being a brat. That was my landlord." Ryouta replies, moving into the kitchen. "I do have a life besides being a villain, you know."

It might be a lie, but Shouto can't really tell. Everything hurts today, and he doesn't want to fight with Ryouta. There's a lump in his throat when there shouldn't be.

"Shouto?" Ryouta calls from the kitchen. "Want a cocoa?" 

A peace offering.

"Yeah." Shouto croaks, clearing his throat. He hears Ryouta rumage around the kitchen, preparing Shouto's cocoa and whatever Ryouta is going to drink. When he comes back out, he takes a long hard look at Shouto before he hands him the cocoa.

"When you're done drinking that, I'm gonna check your temperature again." Ryouta tells him. "You look even worse now." 

Grumbling under his breath Shouto takes the cocoa from his brother and takes a sip. It's the slightly bitter brand that his brother always got himself when he was younger. Since their father was against any and all kinds of indulgence – as he liked to call any food or drink that was sweet – Ryouta had hidden it under the floorboards of the garden shed, and always rushed to prepare some for himself – and sometimes even Shouto – when their father left.

It's nostalgic, but in a good way. After a few sips a familiar warmth spreads through him, making him feel very tired all of a sudden. He downs the rest of the cocoa and hands the empty cup back to his brother, curling up under the blankets, asleep before his head hits the pillow.


	6. Chapter 6

It shouldn't be this easy. Shouto is supposed to be wary of him, and shouldn't trust him at all. But he's glad that he's not, that he allows Dabi so close.

Barely two days ago he'd promised Shouto he'd let him go. Of course he had. He could hardly tell his hero-worshiping little brother that he'd have to stay, that would have only led to Shouto becoming suspicious, and trying to leave. No, it was better this way, Dabi decides. Let Shouto believe that he can leave whenever he wants. Even if he managed to leave the apartment, he'd still be too weak and hurt to get very far, leaving it to Dabi to pick him up and bring him home, and play his caring big brother once more.

But he wouldn't even try to leave in the first place. Dabi would make sure of that. And Shouto had clearly expressed his desire to stay, but he'd been just as clearly torn between his so-called friends and his brother. He could see why his friends would be so important to him, after all, their father had done his very best to isolate them from the rest of society, focused on his goal of surpassing All Might. Of course Shouto would take to some strangers showing him kindness, his brother had never understood the nature of other people well at all. Still a naive child, and believing whatever lies about friendship his classmates at UA told him.

When he unlocks the front door of his apartment, he stops for a moment to listen for his brother. Shouto had been asleep, bundled up in a nest of blankets when he'd left. He should still be asleep, knocked out from his medication, but Dabi is nothing if not paranoid. There's nothing like life as a villain to make someone realize how untrustworthy people can be. Not that he doesn't trust Shouto, no, he's predictable in his own way, but his brother had been tainted by their father, lectured over and over and over again that he should become a hero, and fight against villains. Villains like him. But Shouto loves his big brother...

"Shouto? Are you up?" he asks, moving into the living room. "Shouto?"

No response. There's always the chance of Shouto being asleep, but something about the atmosphere sets him on edge. Drawing a hidden knife from his jacket – no need to burn down a perfectly good apartment when he can take down an enemy with a single swipe of a knife – and peers around the living room. No signs of struggle, that's good. Unless Shouto went with them willingly... Dread settles in his stomach, there's no way. They couldn't have him back. He didn't belong to them.

A loud retching sound startles him.

"Shouto?" He follows the sound of someone upheaving their breakfast. That someone being his brother, who's clutching the toilet like his life depends on it. "Aww, shit."

He crouches down next to Shouto, examining his flushed face. His brother looks far from good; pale and sweaty, cheeks bright red from the fever he's running. Sighing internally he pulls Ryouta's mannerism around him like a well-worn coat. Dabi might not have any kindness left, but Ryouta still does. If only for one person.

"Is it your stomach? Or the dizziness?" he asks, brushing the bangs away from his brother's face, gently resting the back of his hand on Shouto's forehead to check for fever. He's hot, way too hot, even for someone with a fire quirk. He can see that Shouto is losing control over his quirk, ice trying to counteract fire, but somehow making the fever worse.

"Dizzy." Shouto replies, before he hunches back over the toilet and the retching starts again. His face scrunches up in disgust, luckily Shouto can't see him from where he's praying to the porcelain goddess. That was not in his plans, but he could hardly blame Shouto for being sick. Maybe he shouldn't have mixed sleeping pills in his cocoa, Dabi muses, they might not mix with his pain medication. On the other hand, it guaranteed that Shouto was sound asleep when he'd had his cocoa, leaving Dabi to do whatever he want, without having to worry about Shouto running away.

"I'm gonna get you some water." Dabi says, rubbing his brother's back before rising and heading towards the kitchen. In his head he goes over all of his options. It's quite possible that Shouto is just sick from sitting out in the rain for a long time, or maybe he's having an adverse reaction to his pain medication. Or his painkillers – or the tranquilizers he'd been passing off as painkillers every now and then – and the sleeping pills don't mix. For now he decides to go with being sick from the rain – that, and being hurt had probably lowered his immune system.

He couldn't risk not slipping Shouto the sleeping pills whenever he left. Who knows what might happen if Shouto stumbled outside for some reason? Especially running a fever like this? Someone could find him. No, it's the only way to make sure that Shouto is safe, when Dabi isn't around to watch him.

There's still something odd, Dabi realizes when he looks around. There are blankets strewn across the floor from when Shouto had probably made a dash for the toilet, an empty cup joining the blankets, but other than that everything looks the way it should. But there's something off, something Dabi can't quite put his finger on. Something smells different, he notes, kind of familiar, a bit like ashes and smoke, but he can't quite remember what that smell belongs to.

Another loud retching sound makes Dabi cringe and continue to the kitchen. There'd still be plenty of time to figure out what was different, once Shouto was taken care of.

When he returns with a glass of water, Shouto has moved to lean onto the bathtub, breathing heavily. Without a word Dabi hands him the water, watching as his little brother very slowly drinks it.

"Better?" he asks, when Shouto hands him back the empty glass. "Or do you want more?"

"No more. 'm good." Shouto replies. "I don't think I can drink anymore."

"Alright." Dabi says. "I'm going to take you back to the couch. Unless you feel like you gotta puke again?"

"'m okay." Shouto answers. Eyes slowly sliding shut. "I just need a nap and I'll be good. I promise."

With a loud sigh Dabi grabs him by the arms and pulls Shouto upright, only to have him tumble forward into his arms.

"You've been really clingy lately." he mocks Shouto, watching as his brother gives him an exhausted glare.

"I hate you." Shouto mumbles, and lets himself be dragged from the bathroom to the living room, where he collapses on the couch. After Dabi gathers all the blankets and throws them over his brother, he goes back to the kitchen.

He doesn't care about housework – never has and never will – and home remedies have always been a mystery to him. And he can't remember what their mother used to do when one of them got sick. He does know that it's possible to cool down a fever with ice or cold water, but if he were to throw Shouto in a freezing bath right now, he could kiss his apartment goodbye. No, there had to be something else he could do.

A dishtowel catches his eye. Oh, he could work with that. It feels like a long forgotten memory – and it probably is – but he knows what to do. He moves back into the bathroom, picking up a couple of towels and soaking them in cold water. When he's done, he grabs two dry towels, and takes all of them back to Shouto, who's watching him with weary eyes. He probably knows what Dabi's about to do, and is not looking forward to it at all.

"We've got to lower your fever." he says, when he sets the towels on the table next to the couch. Shooting Dabi a withering glare he pulls back the blankets, letting Dabi bend down and push up the legs of his pajamas. Dabi places the dry towels under Shouto's legs, before wrapping the cold ones around his legs, earning a hiss from his brother. Once he's wrapped the dry towels around the wet ones, he pulls back the blankets over Shouto, who has already started shivering uncontrollably.

It wasn't pretty, but it'd lower the fever a bit. It'd do him no no good, if Shouto was out of commission for too long. While that also gives Dabi more time to make his plans work, to get Shouto to trust him completely, it also hinders his plans, because Shouto needs to see Dabi being his big brother. Needs to see him as the only one he can trust.

He doesn't want Shouto to suffer, he's not their father after all – he wants Shouto to be his, to be on his side, his partner, wants his loyalty and strength. Together they'd be unstoppable – but he hasn't cared for anyone in a long time. Without all these heroes around to influence him, Shouto will soon understand. It's going to take time for Shouto to let go of his false idols, but Dabi will be right there with him. He just needed Shouto to be awake and conscious to guide him.

On the counter of the kitchen his phone chimes. It's a message from Kurogiri.

"23:00. Do not be late."

A glance to the clock on the wall confirms that it's just past 3 pm, which should give him enough time.

Kurogiri. He stops for a moment. The smell. Ashes and smoke. The smell of a portal. Inside his apartment. Kurogiri had been here. He'd been here while Dabi was gone. He'd seen Shouto.

That could prove to be a problem. But he'd deal with him, nothing he hadn't done before.

A/N: I just realized that keeps screwing up the format and doesn't save the changes I make. I'm so sorry T_T


	7. Chapter 7

They hadn't listened to him. Of course they hadn't. Why would they? The sheer stubbornness made him want to scream and bang his head against the wall, but he'd been forced to admit – by Mic, the traitor – that he'd probably have done the same, if their roles were reversed.

At least they hadn't acted on whatever plan they had. When he'd stumbled – literally slipped on their piles of paper... who writes down secret plans on paper anyway? – upon their plan, they'd had the decency to look ashamed and promised not to do anything without letting him know. And he hoped, he really, really did, that they would keep their word, but his class was not known for its impulse control. He could only pray that the more reasonable ones like Yaoyorozu and Iida managed to keep the rest of them in line. Though that might become impossible, if Bakugou caught wind of a promising lead.

So far they had been cataloging the facts that they had been able to gather from the Pro Heroes – Mic had a soft spot for them, so they kept wheedling information out of him – and looking through security cameras throughout the area. Everything he'd already done, but he couldn't keep them from it, anything to distract them.

And he understood, he did, but aside from them wandering head first into possible danger and getting captured by the League of Villains – and gods forbid that they'd have to mount another rescue mission for his reckless students – they could easily be killed. They had already learned that the league didn't play around, and he could only hope that they wouldn't just rush off on their own. Bad enough that yet another of his kids had been snatched from under his nose... No, they understood that they couldn't blindly charge in, just as he understood that they needed to do something.

Which led to them coming up with even more creative training exercises, while making sure that Bakugou didn't go on a rampage, anything to keep them busy and safe at UA. Though, to be fair to Bakugou, since his class seemed to be working on tracking and finding Todoroki, Bakugou had been a lot more focused on finding potential leads than starting fights. At least his students were manageable. Endeavor on the other hand...

Any inquiries about his son's home life – specifically about his training and the day he was taken – and hints at possible abuse had led to an immediate shutdown by Endeavor. The more Nedzu had started digging, the more Endeavor managed to evade him. Neighbors who'd been willing to talk to them suddenly didn't know anything, and others completely vanished from the city. The man was as slippery as an eel, and apparently had his own private army of lawyers. While they couldn't go after Endeavor without any evidence, they could try to gather as much information as possible. Todoroki himself would have been an excellent source, but Aizawa already knew that the boy would have kept his mouth shut no matter what. He'd probably be ashamed or, even worse, think that his teachers would be unable to help in any way. No, Todoroki liked to deal with things on his own, but some things Aizawa just couldn't let slide. Especially not abuse, and especially not his students.

So that was another matter to deal with. Finding Todoroki, dealing with his father while somehow working together to get Todoroki back, and then getting him away from Endeavor. Joy... he'd prefer to fight five Noumu by himself than deal with Endeavor, thank you very much.

"Excuse me?" A voice breaks through his train of thought. A young man with white hair and a few red streaks stands awkwardly in the doorway. "I was contacted by someone named Aizawa. Is that you?"

"Ah, yes." Aizawa replies, mentioning for the young man to come in. "You must be Todoroki Natsuo."

"Yeah, that's me." Natsuo confirms, reaching out to shake Aizawa's hand. "You wanted to see me?"

The older sister and only daughter, Fuyumi, had been almost as impossible to reach as Endeavor himself. As soon as Endeavor had caught hint of Nedzu's inquiries he had sent bodyguards to watch over Fuyumi, under the disguise of being worried about his daughter. Trying to talk to Fuyumi had turned into an absurd game of cat and mouse. As it turned out, Todoroki had two brothers, one was nowhere to be found, and the other at college a few towns away. Todoroki Natsuo had immediately agreed to come, once he heard that his youngest brother had disappeared. It had been quite telling that Natsuo hadn't been informed of his disappearance.

"Yes. I do have some questions about your father." Aizawa says, watching Natsuo's face closely, but the young man's face doesn't change from his curious, if somewhat nervous, expression. "Specifically about the treatment of his children, in particular, that of your younger brother."

That got a reaction. For a second Natsuo's face flashed between fear and anger, but then his face settled back into a smooth mask like the one that Aizawa had seen on his younger brother many times.

"Why don't we sit down for that?" Aizawa mentions to the empty chairs in his classroom. "Or would you prefer to stand?"

"I'm going to have to sit down for this one." Natsuo says, moving past Aizawa to sit in one of the chairs. Normally Aizawa would stand in front of the class, but that would create distance between the two of them, and he needs Natsuo on his side, needs whatever information he can provide. So he sits down in the chair next to him.

Taking a deep breath, Natsuo gathers his thoughts and looks at Aizawa. He's uncomfortable, that much is obvious, but focused.

"I might not be able to give you what you need." Natsuo says. "There's... too much at risk."

How to approach this one? Midoriya had mentioned that Todoroki had been kept isolated from his siblings, but Natsuo had cared enough to drop everything and come to UA upon his request, and he seemed genuinely worried for his brother.

"I'll be frank with you. We have reason to assume that your father has mistreated your brother."

For a moment Natsuo avoids his eyes, glancing around the classroom. His classroom, where his students put up some photos of different events. He can tell when Natsuo recognizes his brother in those photos, watches the young man take a deep breath and close his eyes. "What's going to happen, if I tell you that you might be right?"

"As it is, your father is the current No.1 Hero and there is no one to replace him. So we will have to operate very carefully." Aizawa says. "Our current objective is to get your brother and the rest of your family away from your father."

"Our father is a powerful man. He won't let you."

"We have our best people working on it. But right now we have no real evidence aside from hearsay, and without that, we can't help your brother." Aizawa replies, gently pressing onward. "If you are worried about your own safety, and that of your siblings, we will make sure that you're safe."

"And our mother?" Ah, there it is. He's been informed that Todoroki Rei had been hospitalized years ago after a nervous breakdown, and was barely allowed any visitors. He'd been wondering, if Endeavor kept her children from her – or rather if he kept their mother from his children. It'd make perfect sense to use her as leverage.

"We will have her moved to a different institute away from your father's influence." Aizawa says, already sorting through potential hospitals in his head. Nedzu would have to look into transferring the legal guardianship to someone else, and hopefully find someone to treat her properly. Endeavor had kept her isolated, so there's little to no information to rely on. But Nedzu is Nedzu, and once he's focused on something, he is impossible to shake.

"And if you can't?" Natsuo asks. Aizawa can tell that he wants to believe him, that he wants to believe that there's a chance to escape.

"My colleagues might not agree with me, but I'm perfectly willing to expose Endeavor for who he is, No.1 hero or not." Aizawa says, looking Natsuo in the eyes. He wasn't lying. He had no intention of letting Endeavor get away with this. While they might need him as a hero, he had little to no issue working with the media to destroy the man's reputation, as long as he could get Todoroki away from his father.

"Okay. What do you want to know?"

"I'd like to know a bit more about your childhood." Aizawa says, needing to start somewhere. And from what Midoriya told him, Todoroki's training had started early.

Indeed it had. Natsuo doesn't gloss anything over, but Aizawa assumes that he left out some facts here and there, possibly because he just didn't know what had happened during training, but he very clearly remembered his younger brother being kept isolated, and being covered in bruises whenever he actually caught a glimpse of him. Overall it fits what he's heard from Midoriya, though a lot more extreme. From what Natsuo remembers, Endeavor had been merciless in his training – and his punishments. Pushing Todoroki's boundaries over and over again. It's a small mercy that Todoroki hadn't run off with his brother, or had become a villain.

"I can't tell you much about what exactly happened during training. But Ryouta might know more." Natsuo tells him. "Our father was training him before Shouto came along. And they trained together for a while."

"Where can I reach Ryouta?" Aizawa asks, having found no address or contact information at all. Like the young man didn't exist.

"Ah... yeah. He ran away, so I don't know." Natsuo admits, avoiding Aizawa's eyes. "We lost touch..."

He runs his hands through his hair, and stares at the photos again.

"It'd really help if you could talk to Ryouta. He and Shouto were close, always sticking together. Shouto used to worship Ryouta. He thought the entire world revolved around Ryouta. His hero. He always wanted to be a hero like Ryouta was supposed to become. Not like our old man, but like Ryouta. It was really cute. Whatever Ryouta did, Shouto copied. And Ryouta..." Natsuo stops, recounting the few shared moments he'd had with his brothers. "He was the only one who ever stood up for Shouto. The only one who tried to protect him."

It's obvious that Natsuo is uncomfortable, ashamed even. However, Aizawa doesn't blame him. Their father had been very thoroughly scaring them into submission. There's little to no doubt that he'd harm his other children, if they'd gotten in the way.

"I'm sorry." He says, straightening his shoulders and looking at Aizawa. "We should have done something, but we didn't."

"Don't blame yourself. You were children yourselves." Aizawa says, thinking about what it would have been like if Todoroki's brothers had attended UA. Would he have noticed? He had known something was going on with Todoroki, but the boy had expertly blocked any questions that were not related to his school life.

"Do you... are you sure you'll find him?" Natsuo asks.

"We'll do everything in our power to get him back." Aizawa promises. "In the meantime, Principal Nedzu would like to hear everything you have to say about your father and take your statement. Would you be willing to testify against your father?"

He might not be a mindreader, but Aizawa can tell that the young man is torn between being scared of their father and scared for their brother. And he could see a lot of anger mixed in everything. In the end, Natsuo nods with a heavy sigh.

"I'd also like to try to find Ryouta. His account of things would certainly help." Aizawa says. "Do you have any information at all? Former address? Jobs? Photos? Anything will help."

With slight hesitation Natsuo pulls out his phone, scrolling through his pictures, before picking one and handing his phone to Aizawa.

"That's the most recent one I have." He admits. "But it's old."

It is. Todoroki can't be more than six or seven in the picture. The other boy, Ryouta, looks like he's barely in his early teens. His eyes are the same shade of blue as his father's, and his hair, the same red. There's something familiar about him, Aizawa notices. Something about his face is unsettling, familiar, but still unsettling. Like he's seen him before, but all wrong.


	8. Chapter 8

He'd known that being second in command would not only come with perks. Most things were no issue, no problem too difficult to handle so far. But spying on Dabi? The members of their league are neither trustworthy nor very sane, but he can handle most of them, and is familiar with his boss' protege and his lack of sanity – but Dabi is a different brand of crazy altogether, and Kurogiri is nothing if not fond of his life.

But orders are orders. And the boss doesn't tolerate failure.

How he even found out is beyond his imagination. But who is he to question his boss? He has quirks unlike any other, and eyes and ears everywhere. Even hidden away he manages to pull all the right strings to keep the league in order. Shigaraki might not know that, still believing his mentor to be locked away, he concludes, but that is for the best. After all, what makes Shigaraki angrier than being separated from his mentor?

When he'd been sent to Dabi's hideout – nowhere near as hidden as Dabi probably believed – Kurogiri had expected a lot of things. Dangerous people like Dabi always were very cautious after all, and Kurogiri expected to be met with tricks, traps and all kinds of precautions, but what he found was far different from what imagined.

The son of the No.1 hero passed out on the couch of Dabi's place. For a moment he'd assumed that Dabi had successfully captured Todoroki Shouto and was holding him hostage, but the boy wasn't restrained. Upon closer inspection, he could tell that he'd been drugged, and was sick and injured. His wounds had been taken care of. So that left the question of just what Dabi was planning to do with the kid.

Searching around the apartment hadn't provided him with insight on Dabi's plans either. He did find some tranquilizers, which explained why the boy on the couch hadn't moved at all or reacted to his presence. It would have been easy to kill him, if his orders hadn't been strictly to observe and report back to his boss. It was most likely that the boss would choose to have the son of his current nuisance killed anyway.

But after reporting his findings, the boss had been pleased, downright delighted, to learn that the boy was in Dabi's possession. Endeavor had been watching the boy like a hawk, but somehow, Dabi had managed to snatch him. Endeavor's precious youngest son: with a strong fire and ice quirk – what a treat.

He'd assumed that the boss would want the boy brought to him immediately, but then again, the boss was always somewhat unpredictable. When he'd asked for orders, his boss had surprised him yet again. If they killed the boy, Endeavor would suffer a heavy blow, leaving him distracted, easy to take down. They could torture the boy for information and then send Endeavor his son's body, and wait for the fallout. Or better yet, send him his head, wrapped up like a nice little gift, with flowers and a card. Oh, it'd be hilarious. The No.1 hero unable to protect his own child.

He was going through the different ways to kill the boy – a man needed a hobby after all – when the boss had told him to keep the boy alive and to bring him in. He'd recognized that tone of voice...He'd forgotten how much of a hoarder his boss was. But adding a hero's child to his collection seemed ill-conceived.

When he'd mentioned as much to his boss, he'd been silenced quickly. It was then that his boss granted him some insight on his plan. Turn the child on Endeavor. Twist his mind, as simple as that. The man would have to take out his own child, or be killed by his son. And wouldn't that lead to some lovely despair?

It was then that his boss decided to let him in on a secret.

Dabi was connected to Endeavor, he had been close to him at some point, and to his children. How his boss knew, Kurogiri would never know, but that bit of information... He wondered what else his boss was keeping from him, but then again, he'd never dare to question the boss. It seemed that the man was looking forward to adding Endeavor's son to his collection – maybe he should get the whole set. Didn't Endeavor have more children?

He'd been told to find out what Dabi was planning to do with his prisoner, though the boss assumed that he had a similar plan; that Dabi was trying to get his supposed-to-be future-hero on his side. Kurogiri didn't quite believe the plan to work, but his boss insisted that his bond with Dabi was much stronger than the boy's bond with his father. From what he'd gathered, Endeavor was not exactly Father of the Year-material, but it still seemed off to him.

A bell chimed, announcing Dabi's entrance. Kurogiri looks up from behind the bar, where he's been polishing some glasses. The instance their eyes meet Kurogiri knows that Dabi found out that he'd been in his hideout. At least that saves him the trouble of explaining to Dabi why he'd been called in.

It's easy to tell that Dabi's on the edge, subtly mustering the room, checking for hidden enemies and exits. Yes, Kurogiri thinks, he's definitely hiding something. This is going to be interesting.

"Had fun snooping around my place?" Dabi asks.

"Well, I wouldn't call it fun." Kurogiri replies, continuing to polish the row of glasses in front of him. "But I did find something very interesting."

"Is that so?" There's a shift in Dabi's stance. Fight or flight, it is. Fight being more likely, but then again, Dabi knows that Kurogiri is just as fast as he is, and will most likely just warp to a different location. His bar might burn though, and he has grown fond of it.

"Perhaps we should sit down? Discuss things like civil people?" He says, motioning to the several empty chairs in the bar.

With a sardonic snort, Dabi declines, instead moving further away from Kurogiri, hand sliding under his jacket. It's very likely that he's carrying knives or some other kind of weapon – not that it'd make much of a difference if he were unarmed. His fire is quite deadly.

"Very well then." With a fake sigh, Kurogiri puts the glass he's been polishing down. "As you know, I found Todoroki Shouto in your little hideout. What exactly is he doing there?"

"What did it look like?"

Petulant children, all of them. This is why no one ever wanted to be second-in-command. They'd have to deal with this idiocy.

"The boss knows." He tells Dabi, watching as the other's face becomes a blank mask. "He seemed very interested in your plans."

That got Dabi's attention.

"Why?" Oh, how interesting. His voice is deceptively smooth, but for a split second Kurogiri could see some poorly concealed worry on Dabi's face. He's slipping. So the boss had been right – as per usual – Dabi had been close to Endeavor and his family at some point, and was concerned for the brat he was housing.

"He seems keen on having him join our ranks." Or rather, on adding him to his collection. "And if that is what you are aiming for, he'd be willing to offer some... assistance."

"Assistance?" The temperature in the bar rises quickly, resembling the blistering heat of a summer day. A warning. Dabi never appreciated others meddling with his business. He might not know what Kurogiri's boss is truly after, but the young man is nothing if not suspicious.

"Yes. You see, after the ..." he pauses. "Bakugou incident, the boss decided that some recruits need different methods."

The temperature remains hot, but doesn't rise any higher. Kurogiri considers that a small win – and that he probably caught Dabi's attention. The villain really does seem to want to turn Endeavor's son. Interesting.

"He found someone with a manipulation quirk. Her quirk allows her to tamper with people's emotions, and in some cases, even memories." he continues on. "From what I gather, you have had some connection to the boy, have you not?"

"And if I did?"

"Well, Princess Charming, as she calls herself, is capable of strengthening and breaking relationships." Kurogiri explains. "It'd be easy for her to turn you into Todoroki's best friend and confidant, and his father into a living nightmare."

Dabi snorts quietly. Kurogiri doesn't see why Dabi's amused, but at least they're on the same page, so Dabi can sarcasticly snort for all he wants.

"Alright. Tell me more about this Princess Charming."


	9. Chapter 9

He stares at the pink monstrosity, not quite believing his eyes. Princess Charming, as the middle-aged woman insists on being called, is wearing a bright pink lolita ensemble, with a very fake, very fluffy pink wig to top it off. He can't help but wonder, if she knows what she looks like – or if she just doesn't care.

"Hello, handsome!" she exclaims in a sweet, sugary voice that sounds like it should belong to a small child. "You must be Dabi."

Urgh, he can feel a headache setting in. It's for Shouto, he can do it.

"Yeah. That's me." he confirms, forcing something that – in the right light and from the right angle – could be considered a grin. Motioning for her to follow him, he steps back into the apartment and leads her into the living room where Shouto is resting on the couch.

"Aww, look at that cutie pie! No wonder you want him." she says, winking at him. It takes a moment for him to process what she just insinuated, and no, just no. When she sees his face, she giggles and waves at him. "Just kidding! The boss told me we want him on our side. It doesn't hurt that he's adorable though."

It had felt very much like striking a deal with the devil, but Dabi had accepted the graciously offered assistance. Not that he trusted Kurogiri or his boss for a minute – no, they both needed to die in a fire, but for the moment, he could make use of them. If this Princess Charming could help him gain Shouto's trust back then he'd take it, but her personality was not doing her any favors. If she did anything to harm Shouto, well, he wouldn't have any qualms killing her.

So far, everything about her gave him goosebumps. From her weird look, to her sweet smile, to her very sharp eyes. Everything about her was fake, and he could tell that she was much more dangerous than she let on. No one joined the league because they were harmless anyway.

He hadn't been happy with the idea of someone messing with Shouto's memories, and potentially discovering who Dabi really was, but at the moment he didn't have a choice. If he had declined Kurogiri's offer the man would have reported it back to his boss, and he'd rather Kurogiri didn't. He never met the big boss that Shigaraki clung to like some toddler, and he didn't particularly want to. He might have his own reasons for becoming a villain, but that didn't mean he had to follow every oh so great leader that became head honcho of their alliance.

But everything inside him screamed to get away from her. To take his brother and run.

"So what exactly do you want, sugar?" she asks in her sweet, fake voice, smiling brightly at him.

"Him on our side." Dabi replies, watching her.

"Oh, I know, silly." she chimes, clapping her hands together. "How do you want to do it? New memories? Change some around? Remove some relationships? Plant new ones?"  
"You can do all that?" he asks, feeling kind of stumped. Kurogiri had mentioned that she could manipulate emotions, even memories, but never the extent of her quirk.

"Well, sort of." she replies, still smiling happily. "I can't rewrite a person entirely. I can change existing memories. I mostly work with emotions, because memories can be kind of... frustrating. If a person is strong-willed they can put up quite the fight, and it might end up not working properly. Emotions, on the other hand, are easy to manipulate. Everyone has felt resentful towards the people in their life at some point. So I just take that and amplify it... or make it disappear."

"Uh-huh." He didn't really need her to change Shouto's memories all that much. Their father had done his part by trying to ruin his little brother over and over. And he did hate their father, even if there was a hefty dose of fear still mixed in. That and respect for heroes. Even if their father was anything, but one.

He watches as she walks over to Shouto, crouching down next to him to look at his face.

"So what will it be?" she asks, looking almost serious for a moment.

"I want him to hate his father." Dabi tells her. "I want him to want his father dead. So much so that he's willing to actually kill him."

Her eyes go wide with glee. He can't stand her. Not in the slightest. Everything about her disgusts him, and the longer she stays, the more the feeling intensifies.

"I want him to turn away from the hero side, but you already know that or you wouldn't be here." he continues. "I want him to trust me. He knows me, and has trusted me at some point in his life."

"Ooh, how intriguing." she grins, all sharp teeth and threat. "The boss mentioned something like that."

For a short moment he feels very cold in his warm apartment. Shouto has been giving off heat like a furnace with his quirk going on and off. He glances at his drugged, and dead asleep, brother on the couch. It's going to be worth it, he tells himself. It's no surprise that the big man knows things about him. He can handle it.

"Very well." she says, watching Dabi like a hawk. "I'm going to search his emotions first. See how he feels about you and Endeavor. Then I'll let you know what I can do. Anything else?"

"He might have made some friends at the academy. Remove them." he says. Shouto doesn't need friends. They are all liars anyway. They are going to be heroes, and he knows what heroes are like.

"Okay, sugar." she smiles, reaching out to gently brush Shouto's hair from his forehead. "Since you're asking for a lot, it's going to take time. I can't just do it in one session. Maybe two or three."

"Fine. Focus on Endeavor." he replies. 'And me' goes unspoken. She already knows. Despite all her fake sweetness, she's seeing right through him, leaving him wondering if she's going through his emotions without his permission.

"Okay." she chimes again. With a few swift moves, she has Shouto in her arms and is cradling him like a small child. Her eyes go white for a moment, seemingly staring into the distance.

At first, it seems like nothing is happening. Shouto is still resting in her arms, and Princess Charming doesn't seem to be doing anything either. Just then, a shudder goes through Shouto's body, and his face scrunches up. A mere moment after that, Princess Charming's eyes snap open and she turns to look at Dabi.

"Okay. I can do this!" she chirps in her disgusting voice. "I can definitely make him hate Endeavor in no time."

And what about me, he wants to ask, but stops himself when he sees her fox like grin.

"Don't you worry, sugarplum. He's going to adore you." she purrs. "Already cares about you a lot."

"You said it's going to take some time..." he begins, but she waves him off.

"It sure is. Well, the hero stuff will." she explains. "Getting him to hate Endeavor and to trust you might take a little while. I'd say a few hours. The hero stuff? That's different. Might need a few days."

"I see. Heroes last, then." he decides. He doesn't want her here for days. Gods no. But if she actually manages to get Shouto away from his brainwashed friends, and back to Dabi's side, he's willing to put up with her. That doesn't mean he trusts her. No, not at all.

"I do have one warning though."

"What?" He wonders if she's ever actually going to get to it or if she's stalling him.

"It's going to hurt." she says with a smile, before she closes her eyes and presses her mouth to Shouto's head.

In an instant, Shouto lets out a wail, sounding so much like the child Dabi cared for that it takes his entire willpower not to shove her away, and pull Shouto into his arms. The air around Shouto seems to freeze – ice crystals forming on every surface of the apartment. He can see Princess Charming beginning to freeze, and he can't have that. Taking a deep breath he starts to warm the apartment, counteracting Shouto's ice, creating a deeply uncomfortable humidity.

Princess Charming doesn't seem to be bothered by any of this, holding on to Shouto like his quirk doesn't exist. Maybe she's not even feeling it, wherever she is, Dabi muses, but he can't risk her getting hurt. Not as long as she's messing with Shouto. Who knows what damage she could do.

All he can do is wait. But it's hard, so very hard, listening to Shouto's cries – nothing will ever be as bad as listening to Shouto cry for mercy and beg their father to stop – and watching him squirm – no doubt reliving some of their father's training session. He doesn't know what he was expecting when he requested her help. Watching Shouto struggle in her arms, clearly suffering, makes him wonder why he even considered this offer in the first place. Anger makes his skin boil, almost literally, and he forces himself to calm down. It's going to be fine in the end. Everything is going to be okay. It's going to be worth it. Shouto won't hold it against him. He'll understand. He'd do the same if their positions were reversed.

After a good hour has passed, Princess Charming opens her eyes with a sigh. Shouto is still shuddering and panting harshly – eyes wide open, but not seeing anything.

"Alright. First session is over!" Princess Charming exclaims, releasing Shouto, and helping him lay back down. "He's a bit out of it, but it worked just fine."

"Define out of it." It takes everything he has to not grind his teeth and snarl at her.

"Confused, honey. He might not know when and where he is. I've been rooting around his head quite a bit. Looked through a few memories here and there." she tells him. "But don't you worry, your darling brother will be fine once he sleeps it off."

With that she stands up and walks over to Dabi. Leaning in close she gives him a peck on his cheek – he almost physically recoils, but manages to stop himself.

"I'll be in touch about our next session." she says, as she winks at him and leaves. It's really, really hard not to snap her neck, Dabi realizes. He might need her for now, but maybe, just maybe, she could have an unfortunate accident after everything is over.

Once he's certain that she's far away, he walks over to the couch where his brother is curled up and not moving. When he sits down next to him, and reaches out, Shouto shudders and shrinks away.

"Shouto?" Dabi asks, uncertainly. "It's me, Ryouta."

"Ryouta?" the voice might sound like Shouto, but the way he said his name just now reminds Dabi strongly of the little boy that he left behind.

"Hey." Dabi says softly, pulling up Ryouta and smiling like he means it. "There you are."

"Ryouta!" With that Shouto throws himself into Dabi's arms, crying like a child. "I'll be good, I promise. Please don't send me back. I'll be good. Don't let him find me."

That bitch. What did she do to his brother? That wasn't the hatred for their father that he'd requested – no, that was Shouto at seven years old, terrified and hurt. In an instant his fury burns so bright that he almost catches fire. Only Shouto's panicked response snaps him out of it.

"Of course not." he tell Shouto firmly, trying to gather his thoughts. She said that he'd be confused – out of it – but at the moment Shouto was lost and scared, relying on him. "You're safe with me. I'll never let him take you away from me again. I promise."

With that, Shouto sags against him, eyes unfocused, but breathing calmly.

"I'll be good." he mumbles again, and something inside Ryouta gives a painful twinge. If Princess Charming lied and Shouto remained like this. No, he can't think of that right now. He can't. But he can't trust her either.

Then it hits him. She said that she'd looked through his memories. She called Shouto his darling brother. She knows.

They need to leave. Shouto isn't safe here anymore. Princess Charming might have seen more than she let on, already admitting to rooting around in Shouto's head and not doing what she'd been asked to do. He can't trust Kurogiri, much less trust whoever Kurogiri is answering to. No, they need to leave. Shouto is vulnerable right now, and it's his fault.

They need to get somewhere safe.


End file.
